


Built In A Day

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Advice, Awkwardness, Canon Compliant, Comrades, Developing Friendships, Early in Canon, Fluff and Humor, Foreign customs, Gen, Happy Ending, Homesickness, Ice Skating, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Skating Lessons, This is what happens when it's summer in real life, perseverance, trying new things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7635211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mirage wants to explore the human custom of ice skating but his Towersmech grace isn't helping him much in the area, which is why he's so surprised when one of his comrades offers some lessons. If he can survive the lessons, he might actually manage to stand upright on the ice!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Built In A Day

When Mirage had said he liked the human sport ice skating, he had meant the  _idea_  of ice skating. Sometimes when he was a sparkling and the acid rain would dry slick on the tiers of the Towers, he would wrap sheet metal around his feet so it wouldn’t burn them if he went outside, but that hadn’t amounted to anything. Sliding about on dried acid rain was sure to make a spectacle of him in front of some influential and judgmental bots, so he’d always managed to resist. The realization that the humans did something so similar made him long to try it.

It would take a drive to get to the nearest frozen pond, but it was better than being cooped up in the _Ark_ , with nothing to do except read, train, or talk with Hound and Trailbreaker. Yes, Hound was a good friend and Trailbreaker might be if given time, but when they were bored and the Lambo brothers were bored and they were all in the same vicinity, there tended to be  _antics_. What better way to escape the possibility? Besides, skating couldn’t be  _that_ hard.

That had been his thought ten minutes ago when he had approached the empty rink, transformed, and found what his sensors informed him was the thickest area of the ice and could hold his weight if he stepped carefully. He’d done just that—slipping just a nanoklik later and landing squarely on his skidplate.

Mirage glanced wildly around to see if anyone had witnessed it, just in case the area wasn’t as clear as he’d thought, and then scrambled to his feet with a grumble. Resting a hand against a nearby boulder, he tried again and managed to plant both feet before they skidded out from underneath him and he was forced to cling to the boulder to stay upright.

 _Most beginners probably start out like this,_ he decided, trying not to feel defeated already. He was alone; there was no need to be embarrassed! Gathering his wits, he pushed off the boulder, shakily skidding a few feet and holding his arms out for balance. He made it ten feet before some imperceptible catch in the ice snagged his foot and he pitched forward, managing to manipulate his fall so he landed on the ground rather than the ice itself.

That was when he heard someone scoff at him. Sitting up, he blinked in disbelief as Huffer (of all mechs!) did a leisurely lap around the pond and stopped in front of him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t break something,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“What are you doing here?” Mirage demanded self-consciously. Huffer tilted his helm and shrugged in a fluid motion, shuffling smoothly backwards.

“Probably the same as you, except I’m…y’know, managing it.” At Mirage’s glare, the Minibot made an offhanded gesture. “Windcharger taught me how; it’s one of the rare things the humans do that _isn’t_ annoying. I can show you the right way to do it, if you want. It’s not that har—”

“No, thank you,” Mirage cut in curtly. “I can adapt, learn on my own.”

“Okay. You’ll get a lot more dents and scratches while you’re learning, but if that works for you, it works for me.” So saying, Huffer glided away, Mirage watching with wide optics as he performed some human maneuvers. Since he was smaller, the thinner ice held his weight, no doubt, but Mirage was more taken with the question of how a small and stout—stout by Towersmech standards, at least—mech like him could be agile and elegant where Mirage couldn’t.

Rising to his feet, Mirage called in bewilderment, “How are you even staying upright?” Huffer shrugged again, like it was no big deal, and Mirage shuffled toward the edge of the ice, insisting, “I want to know! Are you sure you’d…be willing to teach me?”

“That’s what I said.” Returning to his side of the pond, Huffer continued, “Like I said, it’s not that hard, definitely not as hard as whatever you had to learn in the Towers!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sighing, the Minibot grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the ice with surprising strength. Now that he had someone to lean on, Mirage was aware of how cold the ice was on his feet, which made it impulse for him to stiffen.

“Don’t do that,” Huffer warned. “You’ll start locking up and then when you fall, you will break something. It’s like Cliffjumper’s glass gas. If you like, pretend you’re some graceful mechanimal or something. Bend your knees too and lean forward.”

Upon obeying, Mirage leaned just a bit too far, letting his hands take his weight before the ice itself could and cursing softly.

“Hey, Culumex wasn’t built in an orn,” Huffer reminded him, vocals surprisingly cheerful given who they belonged to, their owner skating fluidly around him and being a bit aggravating whether he knew it or not.

“Neither were the Towers,” Mirage grumbled, fumbling a hand out and latching onto Huffer’s elbow to push himself back up.

“Exactly, neither were the Towers,” his companion echoed back, just a little smug. “Now I wouldn’t exactly _mind_ letting you fall and get it out of your system, but you’ll probably bust your skidplate if you do.”

“Huffer, if all you’re going to do is criti—”

“I did that my first time and Windcharger laughed at me,” Huffer went on as though he hadn’t spoken, pouting as he dragged Mirage by his arm further onto the ice. “It wasn’t funny, you know. It hurt like the Pit!”

“I…imagine it would,” Mirage agreed cautiously.

“So I’ll catch you. It’s better than having to take you back and get hollered at by Ratchet, whether or not you blame that busted skidplate on me.” With that settled, he spun around and crouched, bending Mirage’s knees to his specifications and then sliding back.

Miraculously, the Towersmech didn’t fall. He laughed a bit incredulously, holding out his arms as he slid after his teacher, who nodded thoughtfully. It wasn’t disapproval or scorn, so Mirage was allowed to feel good about it. He smiled widely, shuffling a foot further before he slipped and Huffer was forced to grab him and correct his stance again, repeating his former instructions.

After what felt like an incredibly long time, Mirage was able to keep his balance and move in circles. Granted, he wasn’t going to win any speed records, but it was a start. Huffer even remarked that he was a fast learner, which pleased Mirage quite a bit. His next goal was to get the mech to show some kind of pride in his own skills—maybe a smile?

“You’re a good teacher,” he replied, to which Huffer made that nonchalant hand gesture again. “Really! I think I would still be holding onto the boulder if you hadn’t come along, as much as I hate to admit it.”

“Well, eventually you’d run low on energy and have to come back to the Ark to refuel,” Huffer pointed out. Mirage scoffed lightly but conceded that point, spinning wider circles on the ice.

“I mean no offense, but do you always see the worst in everything?” he questioned.

“Of course not! I told you this was one of the human customs that _wasn’t_ annoying,” the Minibot reminded him indignantly. “And I’ll have you know that I was quite the optimistic mech before…well, before a _lot_ of things happened, when we were back on Cybertron.”

Wistfulness catching in his voice, Mirage agreed, “So was I. Everything was better on Cybertron, wasn’t it?”

“Not everything, but at least we had a home.” Shaking his helm, Huffer stopped entirely and muttered, “Culumex wasn’t built in an orn and it didn’t fall in an orn either, but it felt like before we knew what was happening, it was over.”

It was at that point that Mirage realized he was only depressing his pessimistic companion further, so he changed the subject. “Who else knows how to skate?”

“Let me see…me, Charger, Cliff, and Bee, Brawn—umm, let’s just say Brawn’s working on it. Out of you Bulks, Jazz caught on first, like he always does, and then he taught Blaster, Prowl, and Bluestreak, who taught Optimus, who taught Ratchet and Ironhide. From there it was—”

Before Huffer could finish, there was a creak and a snap precipitating Mirage plunging into the icy water with an undignified squeal. Startled, the Minibot skidded backward as Mirage flailed and cursed and splashed, trying to crawl out. He had, it seemed, ventured a little too far onto the thinner ice and Huffer found himself unable to suppress a laugh.

“S-Some f-friend you are,” Mirage shivered as he found enough purchase to get a leg up, splashing a handful of water in Huffer’s direction and missing entirely, but he didn’t seem as annoyed as he could have been.

After a pause, Huffer sat on the ice and folded his arms. “Is that what we are now? Friends?”

Shaking water from his plating, Mirage glanced at him. “I don’t know. Why not try? I suspect it won’t be _nearly_ as hard as ice skating!”

At that, Huffer snickered again and this time when Mirage flung water at him, he was right on target. While Huffer had told Brawn on their first orn here that he hated Earth’s water, he didn’t mind too much this time.


End file.
